Do 10 a.m. games equal more losses?

One of the biggest reactions to the Seahawks’ 2013 schedule released Thursday was the number of games Seattle will play at 10 a.m. this year.

The Seahawks will play five 10 a.m. games, and there was a noticeable outcry on Twitter and blogs as a result.

For starters, Arizona also has five games at 10 a.m. while San Francisco has two (and that seems to be the reason for the strong reaction from many). But a quick check shows that maybe those early-morning games aren’t so bad after all – at least not compared to the normal difficulty of winning on the road.

Consider: Since general manager John Schneider and coach Pete Carroll took over in 2010, the Seahawks have played 12 games at 10 a.m. In those games, they’re 4-8. In other road games during that time, the Seahawks are 5-9.

Since 2010 the 49ers are 6-7 in 10 a.m. games. They went 5-5 in their other five road games during that stretch. The Cardinals have played six games at 10 a.m. (they’ve played nine games at 11 a.m. and gone 2-7 in those). Arizona is 1-5 in those 10 a.m. games while they went 1-8 in other road games.

The Seahawks play three of their five 10 a.m. games in the first five weeks of the season, including back-to-back games at Houston and Indianapolis. It will be the first time the Seahawks have played back-to-back 10 a.m. games in the Carroll era.

49ers coach Jim Harbaugh actually kept his team in the Midwest in 2011 when his team played a 10 a.m. game against the Bengals one week and followed that up immediately with a 10 a.m. game against the Eagles the next week. The 49ers stayed and practiced in Youngstown, Ohio. They won both games.

The Seahawks five opponents for their 10 a.m. games: Carolina, Houston, Indianapolis, Atlanta and the New York Giants. Three of those teams made the playoffs last year.

NFC West results since 2010

*St. Louis not included because the Rams play in the Central time zone